


Edible Landscaping

by WritLarge



Series: JackRabbit 2017 fics [6]
Category: Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (2005), Rise of the Guardians (2012)
Genre: Crossover, Jackrabbit Week 2017, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-23
Updated: 2017-04-23
Packaged: 2018-10-22 20:19:42
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,077
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10704372
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WritLarge/pseuds/WritLarge
Summary: Bunny takes Jack to visit an old friend in need of some magical gardening expertise.





	Edible Landscaping

Jack eagerly followed Bunny down the tunnel he’d formed, expected to emerge into some other spirit domain. Instead, they exited into the parking lot of an industrial complex. Huh.

“A factory?” Jack hadn’t been sure what Bunny had meant by needing to do some magical maintenance work on a garden for a friend, but he was curious as hell. This was no spirit domain, however. Dull, grey, and industrial... Wait. “Is your friend human?”

“Mostly,” Bunny answered and made for the large metal doors. Jack ran to catch up. 

“Mostly? What does that mean?” Despite being behind him, Jack could still see the half-smile on Bunny’s face. “Bunny!”

They reached the steps, but the doors swung open before Bunny could touch them, revealing a man in a velvet jacket and top hat.

“Oh, come in! Come in!” he greeted them enthusiastically. 

“You can see us?” Most kids still didn’t see Jack, and never adults.

“Why, of course I can!” Jack and Bunny were ushered inside and into a long corridor, a band of red carpet running down the middle of the floor. “Won’t you introduce us properly, Aster? Now that you’ve finally brought him with you.”

Now Jack was convinced that they were friends. Bunny didn’t pass his name around much and even the people who knew it rarely used it. It was growing on Jack, who’d only learned about E. Aster Bunnymund after months of friendship and still not felt comfortable using it himself until their relationship had become more intimate. 

Bunny grinned at Jack, “Jack, this is Willy Wonka. Willy, Jack Frost.”

Willy Wonka? Where did he know that name from? Jack searched his memories until he remembered. He was a candy maker! The kids had gone on about his chocolate before and there had been some kind of contest or something. It wouldn’t have made much of an impact on Jack, but it had stuck once they’d told him about Never-Melting Ice Cream. He’d gone to England just to see it for himself.

“Jack Frost,” Willy’s eyes glittered. “I really must show you my Inventing Room. I have such ideas...”

“I’m sure you do. Speaking of introductions, is this the lad you’ve been on about?” Bunny gestured and Jack noticed a boy standing off to the side, watching Willy curiously.

“Yes. Charlie, come say hello,” Willy urged him forward.

“Who are you talking to?” The kid did look to be a bit old for Belief in Easter Bunny. Jack had much lower expectations.

“You can’t see them? My dear boy,” Willy swept Charlie closer to him with an arm. “This is the Easter Bunny and Jack Frost!”

“Really?” Charlie seemed dubious. Willy leaned down to face him.

“Have I ever lied to you?”

“No,” the boy peered in the general direction Willy had been speaking to, “but really? The Easter Bunny?”

“Oh yes. He’s a large lagomorph. Jack, of course, is terribly pale, but I gather that’s quite usual.”

Jack could tell the moment it clicked for Charlie, who must have trusted Willy a great deal, because the boy’s eyes went wide and flickered back and forth, finally settling on Bunny.

“You’re a very large rabbit.”

“And yet, not a rabbit at all,” Willy grinned. “Come along! There’s so much to see since you were last here.”

Jack paused, catching Bunny’s wrist with his staff and getting a puzzled look in return, though at least Bunny hung back. Charlie kept darting glances at them, as if reassuring himself that they really did exist. Jack was always happy to have more believers. Still, it seemed wrong. He waited to speak until they were out of earshot.

“I didn’t think adults were supposed to see us.” Bunny’s expression cleared.

“Oh, no. They don’t. Can’t mostly, not without hurting themselves. But no worries, Jackie. Willy is something of an exception.” The reassurance relieved Jack considerably. He didn’t want to be responsible for hurting anyone. Aster’s brow furrowed, “He has a tendency to exempt himself from a lot of rules, actually. The two of you should get along just fine.” 

Would they now? Bunny was obviously resigned to some potential troublemaking, but he wouldn’t have brought Jack along at all if he wasn’t okay with it. He wasn’t half the grump he pretended to be. Jack surged up to press a quick kiss to Aster’s cheek before they hurried to catch up with Willy.

“Are you really the Easter Bunny?” Charlie questioned them near the end of the hall while Willy fiddled with his keys.

“Yeah.”

“And you make chocolate eggs and everything?”

“I do.”

“How do you make so many?”

“Trade secret.”

“Fair enough,” the boy laughed. “We’ve got those too.”

“Oh, I doubt we’ll be able to hide much from Aster,” Willy commented, holding up a key triumphantly, “but it’s no matter. He’s not the competition. In fact, he’s here to help with the edible garden.”

“Annual inspection. Willy does an excellent job keeping it up with the Oompa Loompas, but he’s no sorcerer.”

“I could be if you’d introduce me to some of your colleagues,” Willy gave Bunny a half-hearted glare. Bunny shook his head fondly. Must have been an old argument.

“Wait, do you know Father Christmas too?” Charlie lit up the way all kids did at the idea of North.

Bunny and Willy groaned together in sync. The kid blinked anxiously at their reaction and, before the impending gripe session could get started, Jack jumped in.

“It’s okay, Charlie. I don’t know about Willy, but Bunny doesn’t have much respect for the candy churned out by The Workshop.”

“Have you ever actually eaten one of their candy canes?” Willy made a face. “Ugh. Never use yeti as tasters, Charlie. They’ve no palate, whatsoever.”

“All right,” the boy agreed and looked at Jack as it to say – Yeti, really?

“Don’t ask,” he replied, Bunny chuckling beside him while Willy turned a tiny key in the lock. Charlie was going to have a pretty steep learning curve if magic was involved, but he was rolling with it surprisingly well. Then again, Charlie was basically learning magical mad science in a chocolate factory already, wasn’t he?

“Now,” Willy pushed open the doors, revealing a technicolor landscape, “before you begin shouting-”

“Why is there a _bloody house_ in the middle of the garden?”

“About that-”

Jack and Charlie watched them go for a long moment and then burst into giggles.

“Do you want a tour?”

“Hell yes.”


End file.
